The girl group rank has changed radically over the past year.

In February 2012, an online community forum had a topic titled "Ranking Girl Groups for Fun." The post ranked 16 different girl groups, and the highest ranking was none other than Girls' Generation. 2NE1 trailed not far behind in the same top tier. T-ARA, Wonder Girls, and KARA were in tier 2, with f(x) falling between tiers 2 and 3. Below them were Brown Eyed Girls and miss A in tier 3, followed by SECRET, SISTAR, After School, and 4MINUTE in tier 4. Bringing up the end in tier 5 were A Pink, Girl's Day, Rainbow, and Dal Shabet.

The ranks were revisited by Sports Chosun the following May, and then again in March of 2013, when a 2nd girl group ranking chart was published. Since then the ranks have shifted, which is indicative of the quickly changing ranks among girl groups. So let's take a look at the past year, and how the ranks have changed yet again.

2NE1 Vs SISTAR - Who's on top?

Depending on whom your favorite group is, you will agree or disagree with the girl group ranking chart. And of course there will be a lot of talk from the girl groups' agencies. It's only natural that they will be dissatisfied or complain about their own girl group ranks. It seems as if this chart that was made 'for fun' had a great influence on different agencies.

To be fair, the ranks will change significantly depending on when the girl groups last released a new song, and how far into or past their activities this information was taken. But it was determined that a girl group's new song was not a major factor in raising or maintaining a group's rank.

The experts have spoken, and in the top tier is Girls' Generation, 3 years in the running. Their last song release was in January of 2013 with "I Got a Boy." Since then they haven't released a new album, but Girls' Generation is still one of the most popular girl groups, both in Korea and overseas. They truly deserve the title of "national girl group." The group could have lost many of their fans when Yoona and Sooyoung both publicly announced their romantic relationships. However, fans are accepting the fact that they're at the age when dating becomes natural, and the group is demonstrating the robustness of their popularity.

There was an added group in the top tier this year. Since the first chart made its appearance, SISTAR has rapidly climbed the ladder to the top. SISTAR was deemed the 'rank destroyer' in May of 2012, and has won its popularity with songs such as "Loving You" and "Gone Not Around Any Longer." They released their 2nd full length album last June titled Give It to Me. If not in other countries, in Korea the group is 'just as' popular as Girls' Generation.

One music rep commented, "Lately SISTAR has been receiving top notch treatment in various events and CFs. Unlike other girl groups, they've abandoned the notion of pursuing overseas activities, and have focused solely on their Korea activities. This was a great contributing factor to their rapid rise in ranks."

While most music reps can agree on SISTAR's addition to the top tier, there have been some conflicting opinions about 2NE1. Last year 2NE1 released new songs such as "Falling in Love," "Do You Love Me," and "Missing You," focusing on their domestic activities. This year they will hold their 2nd world tour in March, traveling to Japan and China, for a total of 13 cities across 9 countries.

Despite their activities taking place outside the country, there were some hesitant to put 2NE1 in the top tier. Ironically enough, their reason was "because they are 2NE1." They explained that 2NE1 should have been able to stand out more and overtake Girls' Generation's popularity with last year's activity, and that the group should be satisfied being ranked in the top tier alongside Girls' Generation.

2014's Rank Destroyer Girl's Day

Without a doubt, Girl's Day is the group to advance the furthest in ranks.

Girl's Day released their song "Expect" last year, and transformed into a sexy girl group image, raising their rank. They were expected to take a break, but came back with "Female President" shortly thereafter, showing off their sexy charm. In the new year they came back with the song "Something," which earned them the number 1 rank on various music programs, as well as online music sites.

Their popularity is shown in the money they earn, too. They made CF contracts with a variety of brands, including outdoor brand "Kolping," LG accessory "Hedges," Bando Optical Sunglasses, online game Sudden Attack, Dreamcon's contact lens, and LG Electronics' Pocket Photo. According to the agency, "There are numerous offers from cosmetics, clothing, and other companies for CFs. Not only that, there are other event invitations for the group, and their revenue is expected to reach 200% of last year's."

Girl's Day jumped many levels and landed themselves in the 2nd tier. Besides Girl's Day, f(x) was added into the 2nd tier. They released their 2nd album title song "Rum Pum Pum Pum" last July. They took the number 1 spot on a music chart, just 10 days after the song's release, a first since their debut in 2009.

Girl's Day released their song "Expect" last year and came back with a sexy girl group image.

A Pink's rise is noticeable, too. The group seemed like they were on the verge of being in trouble as their member Hong Yookyung left the group. However, their 2013 July release of "NoNoNo" helped them win the number 1 spot for the first ever since their debut 2 years prior. Instead of following the other girl groups' concept of 'sexy', A Pink kept the innocent concept, and earned their rank in the 3rd tier.

If we're talking about groups that are steadily rising in popularity, we can't forget about Nine Muses. These model idols gathered popularity with "News," "Ticket," and "Dolls." Last year they released "Wild in April," "Gun" in October, and "Glue" in December. Their continued activities as a sexy girl group has helped their image and contributed to their increased popularity.

T-ARA, Did They Put the Breaks On Their Falling Popularity?

If there are groups that advance in ranks, there will inevitably be others that fall as well. It becomes especially difficult for girl groups to climb ranks, let alone maintain their ranks, when they're involved in a controversy or when they go through member changes.

In the past year, 2 groups to fall in ranks were KARA and Wonder Girls.

KARA is hot in Japan right now. Last year they were ranked in the top tier, but this time around they've barely made the 4th tier. Their 2013 September release of 4th album title song "Damaged Lady" wasn't met with as enthusiastic a response as they expected. Nicole left the group on January 16th, and Jiyoung will be leaving when her contract expires in April. With the changes in members, it's expected that this group's ranks fall.

The bigger issue is that they could fall further down the list. The group expects to continue their activities with just the 3 members Seungyeon, Hara, and Gyuri.

T-ARA and Wonder Girls fell two tiers to land in the 5th tier. Wonder Girls leader Sun got married and had a baby, and her group contributions were no longer possible. Even popular member Sohee is currently contemplating switching agencies, and they have the chance of being eliminated from the top 5 tiers altogether.

T-ARA is in danger as well. Hwayoung withdrew from the group, who was then followed by Areum. However, they did save some face with their song "Number 9." How will be appeal to their fans in the near future?

The 2013 ranking charts placed Ladies' Code, SPICA, After School, Hello Venus, and AOA in the candidate group. As expected, they did well with their activities, and have won themselves spots in tier 5. Ladies' Code ranked as the number 1 candidate with their debut song "Bad Girl."

However, it's hard to see rookie girl groups to place in the candidate tier this year. If anything, the 2nd generation SISTAR group BESTie is just one of the candidates. Their song "Pitapat" last July helped them get their names out there. It seems as if the girl groups who debuted in 2011 and 2012 didn't receive an exceptional response, so there was a lull in debuting new girl groups. However, since girl groups waged a sexy war in the month of January, it might be the season for new girl groups to emerge.